The Bear and the Maiden Fair
by wibblywobblywesteros
Summary: Ser Jorah only wants to regain his honor. Will Arya Stark allow him to do that? Begins after Dance With Dragons.
1. Chapter 1

Ser Jorah Mormont wandered the marketplace aimlessly. The Second Sons did not get a lot of free time and when they did most chose to spend it in ale houses and brothels. Jorah wasn't in the mood for either one. He wasn't really sure what he was doing at the marketplace either except that it was better than sitting in his tent alone. He had been walking without knowing where to go for quite some time when he saw a familiar face across the market square. It was a young woman, brown hair, carrying a sword, who looked the very same as Lyanna Stark once had. There weren't an abundance of Westerosi maidens in Essos and Lyanna Stark had been long dead, there was only one person she could be. Rumor had it that Ned Stark's younger daughter looked very much like her Aunt and that she had been missing since her father's death. The girl had to be Arya Stark. Jorah watched her for a moment, unsure if he should avoid her or seek her out. Ned Stark had wanted his head when he was last in Westeros but Arya would have been a child back then. She might not even know or care about the crimes of her father's bannerman. He crossed the plaza and went to her.

"Pardon my lady, I think I know you. Are you Arya of House Stark?" He asked.

Her face revealed a momentary expression of shock before she masked it with a neutral one. "You're Westerosi. A Northerner I'd say by your accent." She said, avoiding his question.

"Aye. I was of the North, of Bear Island more specifically." He told her, wary of her reaction.

"You're Jorah Mormont." She sounded disappointed. "I expected you'd be more...villainous."

Jorah thought the demon mark given to him by the slavers looked villainous enough but he chose not to mention it. "I suppose you would. I can't imagine your Lord Father had any kind words to say about me."

"I never said I was Arya Stark."

"You didn't need to. You look exactly as your Aunt Lyanna once did. I knew you from all the way across the plaza." Jorah said.

"And you came over here for what? To confess your crimes? To kill the last of the Starks? What?" She was annoyed.

"If I had meant to kill you, I'd have drawn my sword and done it by now."

She arched an eyebrow. "I'm not so easy to kill."

He glanced at the Bravosi blade she carried. "You've been trained to use that?"

"Yes, by Syrio Forrell and others after him…."

"The Bravosi are skilled fighters. I suppose that explains how you survived in Essos this long. Most women who don't get taken as slaves have to resort to brothels."

"How do you know I haven't?" She disliked him making assumptions about her.

He shrugged. "This time of day, almost dinner, you wouldn't be wandering around the market if you were anything but free."

"I'm done here." Arya said and Jorah thought she meant to be done with her shopping until she walked away, making it clear she was done with the conversation.

"Lady Arya?" Jorah called after her but she didn't stop walking so he followed her at a swift pace and caught her shoulder.

"What do you want from me?" She turned to him annoyed. "Forgiveness?"

Jorah didn't have an immediate answer. She had perceived something that he himself hadn't known. He did want forgiveness. He had betrayed his queen and his liege lord before that. If he could gain the respect or trust or favor of the last of the Starks perhaps he could go to his grave with a little honor intact.

"Yes." He finally gave as an answer.

Arya's expression showed surprise then pity. "I don't have the power to pardon you even if I wanted to. I'm not the heir to Winterfell, Sansa is."

"I already have an official pardon from Robert Baratheon. I don't need anymore useless bits of paper. What I need is to regain my honor. I am under contract as a soldier with the Second Sons but when that contract is ended, what can I do to prove my loyalty to House Stark? I would offer you my sword but you already have one of your own….How can I serve you?"

Arya's mouth dropped open and for a moment she seemed unsure of what to say. "You can't. There is no house Stark anymore. Winterfell is burned, most of my family is dead, and I'm never going back to Westeros. If you want honor, then keep your oaths from now on. Be a good soldier with the Second Sons and stop being stupid and betraying people." She tried to move away from him.

"Lady Stark." He stopped her just before she could go. "If you should ever need anything, anything at all, you know where to find me.

She nodded and left him without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

It was several months later before Ser Jorah saw Arya Stark again. He had fully expected to never see her again. She seemed to be an independent sort of woman who was unlikely to ask for help very often. When Arya marched into the mess tent where he and Tyrion and Penny were having dinner, Jorah was more than surprised though his expression remained as stoic as ever.

"Arya Stark?" Tyrion said with amazement as she approached their table.

"Did you mean what you said, Mormont?" Arya asked, ignoring Tyrion.

"Every word." Jorah replied.

"When did you speak with her? Why didn't you mention this?" Tyrion was asking.

"Is it true you speak Dothraki?" Arya asked Jorah as if Tyrion wasn't even there.

Jorah nodded. "Well enough."

"I need your help. I can arrange to pay off your contract with the Second Sons … it will be dangerous."

Ser Jorah stood. "I meant what I said. I am at your service."

"Seven hells!" Tyrion exclaimed. "It appears she has sold Winterfell and bought herself a bear."

"Shut your mouth Imp before you find a sword in it." Arya finally spoke to him.

"So you do recognize me? Though, I daresay it has been a long time since anyone has called me Imp to my face….so what is this dangerous quest that you need our valiant Ser Jorah for?"

"I've changed my mind." Arya said to Jorah. "If you want to prove your loyalty to house Stark, get rid of this Lannister for me."

Jorah hesitated. "I could...but I hardly see how murdering people proves anything."

"Good." Arya breathed a sigh of relief. "Loyalty is good and all but blind loyalty is stupid."

"And if he had been blindly loyal I'd be dead!" Tyrion protested. "I love how you Starks think things through so carefully."

"Oh I thought it through." Arya said. "One less Lannister in the world wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit."

"You wound me lady Stark." Tyrion said dramatically.

"I doubt that." She countered.

"You still haven't told us why you're stealing Ser Jorah away from us." Tyrion said.

"I work for the Iron Bank. A merchant in Mereen bought three thousand Dothraki horses with money loaned to him from the Iron Bank. He said he had a buyer for these horses but before the sale could be made he died in some queer accident. The Iron Bank doesn't want the horses, they want their money back. It's my job to either sell the horses back or get the money by some other means." Arya told them.

"And if you fail to make this exchange?" Ser Jorah asked.

"Then my life is forfeit."

"I see. I will do what I can for you Lady Stark. When do you leave?" Jorah said.

"Tomorrow." She glanced over at Tyrion and Penny. "You two have survived remarkably well for not being….warriors….what do you think the Dothraki would make of Lannister wit?" Arya asked Jorah.

"The Dothraki have their own sort of humor but Tyrion has talked his way out of many difficulties and Penny is brave. If you were to bring them along, I'm sure they would prove useful." Jorah suggested.

"I could use someone diplomatic…" Arya thought out loud. "Alright, they can come as well if they want." With that she left the same way she had come.


End file.
